Assault Shotgun: The Richard Aiken Story
by WildArm
Summary: An ode to my favorite character of Resident Evil One. Follow Richard Aiken on his own adventure through the Spencer Mansion from his deployment to his untimely demise. Please R&R. COMPLETE!
1. Thunder

_DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own anything related to Resident Evil or its affiliates._

Assault Shotgun: The Richard Aiken Story

I

Thunder

The helicopter ride seemed to be taking forever. Richard Aiken, member of Raccoon City's Elite S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team, let his head rest on the cool metal of the helicopter as he tried to keep himself in check before the mission started. He seemed to do this whenever there was a dire situation at hand, a situation where he'd either have to be on his feet or fear the worst.

Yet something was still unclear to him in his mind: why exactly were the S.T.A.R.S. being deployed in the first place? The grizzly murders that have been taking place the last few weeks were ones that made people raise an eyebrow, sure, but why send the elite before the police? Richard didn't like thinking of himself so highly, but for all he knew this was just a routine check where he and his team would just stroll in, put some cuffs on a couple of crazies and call it a day. Didn't that seem like a job that Raccoon P.D. was capable of? Why throw in a Statue of Liberty play in the first quarter of a game?

"Hey," Richard felt someone nudge him, causing his eyes to flutter open. He looked to his left and noticed the pearly whites of Forest Speyer glaring in his face. "You all right, man?" he asked, letting his smile fade into a modest grin.

Richard nodded and returned his grin. "As good as I can be, brother. Just another day, huh?"

Forest Speyer was a stand-up kind of guy, a guy you can actually trust when the shit hit the fan. Although he has a very childish and nonthreatening demeanor, Forest is actually a force to be reckoned with, whether he has a weapon or not. A master of close-quarters-combat and an expert sniper, he had saved Richard on more than one occasion when missions chose for the S.T.A.R.S. to go into "hostile negotiations". He lugged around a Milkor MGL, a semi-automatic multiple-shot grenade launcher designed to bring hell upon whoever was on the receiving end of its fury. Add all those to the fact that Forest was one of the more conditioned officers, regularly hitting the gym and bragging about his lean, muscular physique in the break room, and you got one top-notch soldier fighting beside you.

"I hear ya," Forest returned, stretching his arms out and letting out a big yawn. "I just think it sucks that we have to check this place out in the dead of night, you know? Not for nothin', but the woods gives me the creeps at night."

Richard laughed. "And just when I thought I had you all figured out, Forest."

Forest replied by flashing his famous grin, then turning his gaze to peer at his other squad mates, one of whom was missing.

"To be completely honest with ya, though," Forest began, sighing and grinning at Richard once again. "I kinda miss Frost."

Forest was talking about Joseph Frost, an old member of Bravo team who was recently promoted to Alpha by Albert Wesker. Although the entire team had no idea why Frost was promoted before the others-possibly due to his lack of taking things seriously even when a mission started-jealousy was not going to allow anyone to second guess Wesker's authority. In truth, the others were happy for their comrade, but his presence was well missed by the rest of the team.

"It's not like we'll never see him again," Richard laughed. "If shit goes wrong with us, you better believe that Joey will be right there looking for us with Chris and the others. So quit being a little bitch and get your head in the game."

Richard let out a big sigh after his laugh and scoped out the rest of the chopper. Sitting across from him was Kenneth Sullivan, a cool and composed type of guy who always kept a mellow head even when things got heated. Richard was glad whenever he got paired up with Kenneth; for such a quiet guy, Kenneth was sure a funny one when the ball got rolling.

Kenneth looked over at Richard and nodded to assure him that everything was all right. Kenneth wasn't one to have small talk before a mission started.

The man sitting next to Kenneth was Enrico Marini, captain of Bravo team. Enrico was the type of man that boosted everyone's morale, although he lets his arrogance get the best of him at times. Sometimes, Alpha team leader Albert Wesker lets Marini take control of both Alpha and Bravo teams when he himself is unable to attend to missions due to paperwork and a busy schedule. It is also well-known that Marini is jealous of Chris Redfield and Barry Burton, both members of Alpha team, and assumes the worst when thinking that one of the two men will assume his position in the future. Richard was never sure where these paranoid feelings manifested, as Wesker trusted Marini and always treated him as second-in-command of Alpha and Bravo.

Edward Dewey was sitting shotgun with Kevin Dooley, an R.P.D. officer who took Dewey's place for some missions when the Bravo team needed a navigator. Dewey was the Barry Burton figure of the Bravo team, the big man with a warm heart that looked out for his teammates as if they were his own family. He is a dedicated soldier and a decent man who'd put his own life on the line to save his teammates and has on several occasions.

Lastly was the newest member of the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team, eighteen-year-old Rebecca Chambers, a girl far greener than anything in the forest they were just passing. She served as the team's medic, a proclaimed prodigy who was an expert in medicine and biology. However, the girl lacked any field experience, as this was her first assignment with the team, and it seemed as though the jitters were getting the very best of her much too soon. Richard was in his early twenties, but Rebecca was still a kid, something that irritated Richard. The girl was decent enough; pretty, had a great personality, but her age and demeanor was something that will definitely become a liability in the near future, and Richard would be damned if he'd put himself in danger to save her.

_Who are you kidding?_ Richard asked himself. _You know if something big is heading for the girl you're going to be there to take the brunt of the blow. Telling yourself otherwise isn't going to change anything. What would Janice think of you now? Big Brother Richard failed to save her from getting killed and is going to allow it to happen to someone else? Even after the promise you made to Bridgette? _

Richard was referring to Bridgette Jones, his former lover. Richard had written her a letter explaining his actions for joining and remaining with S.T.A.R.S.. He no longer wanted to feel helpless to save someone in need, as he did for his baby sister, who perished when an armed assailant had robbed their home when he was younger. Bridgette had left him not long after the letter was written, not because she didn't love him, but because she knew that in his line of work there was always a possibility of not returning once he set foot outside their home, and that was something she could never accept.

However, Richard _did_ take a special liking to Rebecca, and it seemed like the two were starting to hit it off. However, Richard had something against dating people from work, and the girl was still a kid. He'd broken many hearts in the past, and she seemed too pure for him to defile her in any way.

Rebecca looked over to him and smiled. Richard gave her a quick glance back and looked outside the chopper, brushing her off. He didn't do it intentionally; he just didn't like to get in a happy mood before a mission started. As much of a nice guy as Richard is, he always liked when his adrenaline pumped his veins and anger filled his blood. It truly _was _on the battlefield where he has shown his true colors as a man who doesn't fear death nor pain, and will do whatever it takes to succeed.

_**BOOM!**_

The nose of the chopper was spewing smoke. Richard gripped one of the safety harnesses above him and looked to the front of the chopper where Kevin and Edward were trying to figure out what the problem was. He wasn't exactly "well-informed" with the specs of helicopters, but if he had to take a guess, he would say that the engine blew out, something that could potentially be a fatal problem.

"What the hell was that?" Enrico asked, quickly getting up from his seat and walking over to Kevin and Edward. "Everyone grab a safety harness! Dewey, what's going on?"

Edward looked back to Enrico and told him of the situation at hand. The front panel's lights were twitching and the panic light was flickering on and off. "Engine failure! We're bottoming out!" he exclaimed, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Emergency landing! Take 'er down, Dooley!"

"You got it!" the R.P.D. officer yelled, bringing the helicopter to a steady hold as they quickly crashed down to the earth below. The nose of the chopper was obliterated; pieces of steel and sheets of metal littered the crash-site. Richard felt the stinging sensation hitting his head as a small trickle of blood fell from his forehead. The pain in his forearm from holding the safety harness was excruciating as well.

_Good thing the seat belt actually worked._

"Is everyone all right?" Enrico asked, the Bravos giving a "yeah" or a nod to assure him that they were. "All right, people! We seemed to hit a little snag, so let's pile out and check our situation."

"Yes, sir!"

"Dooley, I want you to stick around and get Alpha on that radio. And if you can, try to see what exactly went wrong with the chopper. I was sure that it passed inspection earlier today."

Dooley gave a stern nod and looked to Marini with confidence. "Yes, sir! I'll try my best! You guys just be careful out there!"

As the rest of the Bravos piled out of the helicopter, Rebecca took a second to give Dooley a thumbs-up, Dooley returning the favor with a stern salute. "You just be careful, Kevin," Richard could hear Rebecca say as he and Forest went off in their own direction.

"Check the current position we are in and investigate the area," Marini ordered, splitting off in his own direction and leaving the Bravos to secure the area themselves.

"You scared yet?" Richard asked Forest, who shrugged and shook his head.

"This ain't the time to fuck around, man; this is some serious shit."

Richard, knowing Forest was right, nodded and shouldered his customized shotgun and aimed forward. Richard carried the Remington 870, a pump-action shotgun used primarily by law enforcement. He had Joseph Kendo, personal friend of Barry Burton, play with the specs of his shotgun in order to increase range and round capacity. Joseph Kendo also customized the sidearm of the S.T.A.R.S. unit, calling it the Samurai Edge, a customized Beretta M92FS. "You think any of these fuckers are out here?" Richard asked, waiting for his comrade to come up with an answer but heard nothing.

The other Bravos were completely out of sight; only Richard and Forest were in this secluded area. The cool July night's air was so thick that you can feel the humidity, only making them sweatier as they walked. A dense fog hindered their sight significantly.

_**"Bravo Leader to Team, Rebecca found something. Head northeast of the chopper. Over." **_

Richard and Forest both nodded and ran back in the direction they had come from. As they made their way to the rest of the Bravos, they noticed that they were the last to show.

It seemed to be a smoking Jeep that was turned over. The letters "MP" were written on both sides of the doors, marking it a military policeman's jeep.

"Jesus…" Richard said, discarding the Remington and kneeling beside the Jeep. "Thing looks like it was torn inside-out. Look at these tires; they look like they were chewed apart."

Richard heard Rebecca gasp, causing him to snap a look back. Enrico discovered the body of a Military Policeman who seemed to be slumped in his car seat. His face was torn apart; a huge gash was seen across his face, disfiguring the soldier.

"Hmm? What happened?" Enrico asked, kneeling down and inspecting the corpse further, all the while Rebecca found a file not too far from the crash-site.

"Court order for transportation. Prisoner: Billy Coen, ex-lieutenant, 26 years old. Court marshaled and sentenced to death July 22. Prisoner is to be transferred to the Ragathon Base for execution."

Edward stepped up to Rebecca and took the file from her. "Those poor soldiers. They were good men that were only doing their jobs and this scum murdered them and escaped!"

"All right, everyone!" Enrico said, taking the file from Edward and skimming through it quickly. "Let's separate and survey the area! Our friend is brutal and ruthless. Keep your guard up!"

Richard quickly looked to his left and saw that Rebecca had gone off in her own direction. He really wanted to go to her side and make sure she was safe, but Richard wasn't known to disobey orders. He looked over to Forest and nodded. "Don't forget to bring the fuckin' thunder," he said, extending his fist, Forest connecting it with his.

"You know it," he said, lifting up his Milkor MGL and disappearing from view.

Now that Richard was alone, he slung his Remington forward and aimed in the foggy distance. He was shaking in his boots; the cannibals weren't the only things he needed to worry about now; he knew that whatever chewed those tires apart was most certainly inhuman. And although _he_ was armed, the escaped convict, Billy Coen, was now armed as well, as both MP were stripped of their weapons.

_So now I have guys who want to eat me and a crazy guy with a nine trying to put a few slugs in my ass. Great. Just great. _

_**"B…Lead…to…eam…"**_

It was Enrico's voice that suddenly brought the radio to life. His voice was followed by a few gunshots and a few ghastly growls. It seemed like there were more worries that plagued Richard's mind than he had thought.

And from the corner of his eye, he could see a glowing pair of yellow eyes glaring at him from the distance. Richard simply aimed forward and said, "R.P.D.! Identify yourself or I will be forced to fire!"

Silence.

Richard saw that the glowing yellow orbs faded into the night, and although he kept his guard up, he could feel that he was being surrounded by something. Just then, from out of nowhere, a creature flew out of the fog and lunged at Richard.

"Oh, shi…!" Richard exclaimed, only to have a bullet nearly zipping by his ear and nailing the creature in the side of its head, the creature's body missing Richard's by mere inches.

As the ringing in his ears ceased, Richard turned around and saw Forest in his firing stance with his Samurai Edge and its smoking barrel. "Move!" he shouted, ejecting the magazine from his Beretta and slamming another one home.

"What the fuck is going on?" Richard asked in pure terror, only to have his friend tug on his arm and motion him forward.

"These things are everywhere, man!" Forest shouted while trying to catch his breath at the same time. "Ran by the chopper to get Kevin, but the things already got to him. He's dead, Rich! Kevin's dead!"

"What the hell is chasing us?"

"They're _Dobermans_, man! Not any ordinary ones, but bigger! I've never seen this shit before! One of them managed to clip my arm, but I took that fucker out with one shot! The captain radioed us and told us to make a run for the factory up ahead! Said that there should be an entrance that would lead directly to the mansion we're supposed to investigate! That's where we're heading now!"

Richard looked at Forest's forearm; it was torn to pieces it seemed, and a few good layers of skin looked like they were ripped off. "Jesus…shouldn't you put something on that arm? It's really going!"

"Nah, I'll be fine!" Forest said. "I'll take care of it once we're inside and in the clear! Come on, buddy; we're almost home!

Richard could hear the terror in his friend's voice. He…_they_ didn't expect for any of this to happen. With Kevin dead, Forest wounded, and the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. Bravos separated, it seemed unlikely that any of them would be saved.

But hope still lingered in Richard's mind. _Alpha_, he thought. _Alpha team is gonna come and save us…they just have to…_

_{break}_

Author's Note: I've read a lot of stories about Richard Aiken and his own path going into the Resident Evil series and I thought it was time that I jumped on the bandwagon for it as well. Hopefully it turned out okay. Thanks for reading all! Look for more soon!

- Wild


	2. First Blood

II

First Blood

It just didn't make any sense to Richard. It all seemed like a terrible nightmare that he would wake from. But watching Forest sitting at the end of the hallway patch his wound made Richard realize that what was happening _was_ real after all. Kevin was dead, and who the hell knew where the other Bravos were. He and Forest were alone.

They made it to the factory in one piece, although they didn't really have a clue as to where they were anyway. The radio wasn't giving off a feed of any kind so contact with the other Bravos seemed too out of reach. And the factory looked like there hadn't been anyone inside for weeks…

Maybe _months_…

"Where the hell is everyone?" Forest asked, wincing as he mistakenly touched the flesh of his wound, causing the pain to rush to his brain.

"I'm not too sure about that one, pal," Richard answered, shaking his head. "I'm not sure exactly what the hell is going on right now, but we're not exactly dealing with the norm here."

"Well, the sooner we can find a way out of here, the sooner we can make it to the Spencer Mansion and regroup with the others."

"We can only be so lucky."

Richard turned back to Forest and took a look at his wound. He couldn't really see it before when they were outside because it was so dark, but now that he was in dim light, he could see that the dog—or whatever the hell it was that attacked him—really put a number on Forest's arm. Bits of flesh clung to the arm, and pieces of bone were exposed. Rebecca was the field medic of Bravo Team, but they are all trained in some basic form of first aid for just an occasion as this, where the medic is nowhere to be found. And although Richard wasn't a doctor, he knew that if Forest didn't get his arm looked at soon, he could run the risk of infection, or worse: amputation.

_God only knows what kinds of diseases these animals have out here..._

Richard was surprised to see his comrade not only handling the pain well, but being very calm about the situation. If it were him, he would have been screaming like a little girl.

"You need me to help you with that?" Richard asked Forest, walking over to him and taking a knee beside him. "Seems like it'd be easier if I gave a hand."

"No can do, buddy," Forest answered. "First rule of survival is to only think about yourself. Not saying I don't care about you guys." Again, he flashed his famous grin. "But when all others are incapacitated or missing and you're the last man standing, you're gonna have to try to patch yourself up alone if you're injured. I know you're here in case I _really_ need a second pair hands, so I want to try to do this on my own for now. You follow? Just look at it as some sort of..._simulation_."

"Simulation, huh?" Richard grinned, patting Forest on the shoulder and giving him a nod. "How's it feeling?"

"Well, besides the fact that I now know what hell must feel like, I think I'm gonna live if we can treat it soon. The bandage I got on my arm should stop the bleeding for now, or at least slow it down until we can get to some decent medical supplies. Rebecca has all that ointment and anti-bacterial stuff in her pouch, so that's out for now. I'm sure there's some sort of first-aid station in this factory to hold me off 'til we run into her at the mansion."

Richard nodded once again. "All right," he said, shouldering his Remington and standing up. "I'll go take a quick look around and come back for you."

"Thinkin' you're gonna leave me behind?" Forest asked, standing up as well, slinging his Milkor MGL to the side.

Richard quickly shook his head. "Look, Forest, I'm not gonna be gone for long. I just want to check out a room or two and then I'll come back for you. Who knows? I might be able to find that first-aid station in one of these rooms after all. Besides, you still need to look after that wound, don't you? I don't want you passing out on me because you lost too much blood."

Knowing Richard was right, Forest sunk his head low and took a seat on the floor once again. "All right," he said. "You got ten minutes. If you're not back before then, I'm coming to look for ya. How's that sound?"

"Fair enough," Richard smiled, giving one last nod as he ventured into the dim hallway. He wasn't sure how long the lights have been on in this factory exactly, but they were dimming, and the last thing Richard needed right now was for the lights to go out. Fortunately for him, he had fresh batteries in the flashlight of his Remington.

_Where is everybody? _Richard asked himself, opening the first door on his left and entering. It looked to be like some sort of break room, probably the place where the workers would come in the morning and punch-in before they got to work. The room was like any other normal break room: coffee table, vending machines, etc., all of which seem to have not been used in quite some time.

Richard entered the break room and noticed a door at the end. As he quietly turned the knob, he opened the door and aimed forward, only to have a mop fall down on the floor in front of him.

_Just a closet_, Richard thought to himself, relieved, until a firm hand gripped his shoulder. Feeling the adrenaline rush through his veins, Richard kicked back and heard a groan, then spun around and aimed his Remington at his target.

"Wait, wait!" Forest said, grabbing his groin and taking a knee on the floor.

"Jesus, Forest," Richard said, scratching his head and looking down upon his comrade. "You know you shouldn't sneak up on me like that, especially here. I'm scared shitless as it is."

"Duly noted," Forest coughed, regaining his bearings and taking a deep breath.

"And I thought I told you to wait for me. Are you all right? How're the kids?" Richard joked, pointing to Forest's groin.

"Still there," he replied. "It was dark back there," Forest laughed, "I was starting to get the willies. So, you find anything?" he asked.

Richard shook his head. "'Fraid not," he answered, walking passed Forest and exiting the room, his comrade close behind. "I'm not sure if this place is exactly "empty", but there's gotta be someone…or at least some_ thing_ that could tell us why it's abandoned. I never even knew this factory was out here."

"That makes two of us, buddy," Forest agreed, walking passed Richard as soon as they hit the long hallway once again. There was a door on his left, and as Forest and Richard both took their positions on both sides of the door, Forest glanced at Richard and waited for his nod. As soon as he saw it, Forest pulled the handle open and the two officers piled in…but stopped at the sight they saw.

"Jesus…" Forest said, slinging his grenade launcher to his back and taking a look around the room, "looks like we found them…"

The room was littered with corpses, some of which seemed to have decayed, their faces appearing holey and decrepit. Richard looked over at Forest, whose eyes were glued to the massacre before their very eyes. Richard wasn't sure what exactly was going through Forest's mind, but he could clearly tell that he was just as confused as he was.

"What the fuck _happened _here?" Forest asked, kneeling over and inspecting one of the corpses. Looking at one of the victims' necks, Forest ran his finger over the lined wound that appeared all over the area. "They look like bite marks, man."

"Think it was the cannibals?" Richard asked, realizing the stupidity of his question after he asked it.

"Well, I don't really see what other cause we can really trace it to other than them. But from the looks of it, these guys have been here for days…maybe a few weeks… How long have these cannibals been in the woods? Surely there must have been one of these victims that survived the initial attack, called for help? There had to have been!"

_This is all getting stranger by the minute_, Richard thought, shaking his head. Some corpses sported empty eye sockets that were abuzz with maggots and flies. The odor in the room was like a mixture of rotten fruit wrapped in sour meat mixed in with fish that had been left in the sun for days.

The smell was starting to make Richard's nose singe; he couldn't stand it any longer. "Forest, I think I'm gonna be fucking sick, man," he said, walking over to the corner and coughing loudly, small traces of vomit falling to the floor shortly after.

"Just let it all out," Forest said, covered his nose with his good arm. He walked around in a circle to inspect the bodies of the others to see if there was any sign of life from any of them...and then he saw something.

A twitch.

"Hey," he said, looking back to Richard. "I think we may have a live one here."

"Huh?" Richard asked, wiping his mouth and making his way over to Forest. "You gotta be fucking kidding."

"Nah, man," Forest said, kneeling down and shaking the twitching man. "Just relax, buddy, we're R.P.D.; everything is gonna be just—"

As soon as Forest finished those words, the man turned his head and Forest could see Death in those eyes; his pupils were as white as chalk. His lip was ripped off his face, his bared teeth showing behind hungry moans, and his left eye was ripped from its socket. The man looked like something out of a horror film. It looked at Forest for a moment, studying him, as a child might. Finally, it snarled, opening his mouth to show pieces of flesh and marrow stuck between its yellowed teeth.

"What the—"

Forest could barely finish his sentence before the man lunged for him and bit his hand. Tattered flesh and blood flew freely from the wound, causing it to stain the floor below them. It took Richard no time to react as he shoved a screaming Forest out of the way and slammed his boot down hard on the maniac's head, causing it to _crunch_ as it caved into the hard ceramic floor.

"Shit, shit, shit," Forest exclaimed in pain, bringing himself to the corner and assessing his new wound. The crazed maniac that took a chunk from Forest's hand had very sharp teeth, the wound looked like the man broke about two to three layers of skin, just enough to barely cover bone.

Aiming down at the corpse, Richard slowly moved back towards Forest but didn't take his eye off the massacre before him. "Hey, man, you still breathin'?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm still alive," Forest said, standing up to join Richard. "Not gonna lie, though; that fucker got me good, just like that dog. Just what the hell is going on in this place?"

"I wish I could tell ya, Forest," Richard answered, cautiously stepping over the bodies of the massacre and proceeding to the door. On the way out, Richard looked at the wall by the door and noticed an entire layout of the factory.

_That's convenient_, Richard thought to himself. "Hey, come take a look at this, Forest," Richard called to his comrade, showing him the blueprint of the factory. A conveniently marked "You Are Here" symbol made navigation much easier as the two searched for the path Enrico was talking about earlier.

Forest put his finger around the blueprint. "This place isn't really that big. If we continue down this corridor, we should be able to hit a fork in the road. From there, we hit a left and continue down that corridor until we reach the freight elevator."

"How do you know that'll lead us to the mansion?" Richard asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Look," Forest pointed out, directing Richard's view to the area where the freight area is and showing the word "Spencer" with an arrow pointing upward. "We take the elevator, we'll be at the mansion. Let's just hope we don't run into any more of these crazy fucks on our way."

"I really doubt that," Richard said, feeling a rough hand grabbing his shoulder. Remembering what Forest did earlier didn't cause Richard to react in time, but as he took a quick glance at Forest and noticed that both of his arms were being used to double-check the blueprint, his heart froze, and he quickly turned around and noticed the face of a man who's nose was ripped cleanly save for a bit of flesh and bone that clung to its former self. He had the same hungry moan the other one had and lunged for Richard.

In quick motion, Richard grabbed the throat of the lunging cannibal. The man's strength was unlike any other man Richard has ever faced; either that, or the surprise from the attack caused Richard to react much weaker than he would have a frontal attack. "Little help here!" Richard exclaimed, looking over at Forest's direction, who just realized what was going on.

"Richard!" Forest exclaimed, kicking at the cannibal's midsection and causing him to fall to the floor not too far away. "Stay down or I'll fucking drain you!" Forest yelled, watching in amazement as the deformed man rose to his feet and took another try at reaching the two men.

It took no time after that for Forest to pull out his Beretta and fire once at the cannibal's kneecap. The man fell to one knee and froze for a moment, lifting his head and staring at his two assailants. Seconds later, favoring his right knee, the man stood up and continued his charge towards Richard, causing Forest to fire another round at his other kneecap. The man's glare that was fixated on Richard was now directed to Forest.

"What the fuck?" Forest asked, firing at the man's chest twice and watching him fall to the floor on his belly.

The two officers breathed a sigh of relief, Forest still standing there dumbfounded with the muzzle of his Beretta smoking. Neither of them could believe anything of what was going on right then. They were both frightened, and both of them were man enough to admit it, although leaving their own personal feelings aside would probably be the best thing to do in the long run.

"Maybe he's on something, like that other guy?" Richard suggested, walking over to the corpse. "PCP, angel dust, coke, _something_!"

Richard noticed Forest was fixated on the corpse on the floor, his head cocked, as if watching something for the first time. He looked intrigued, curious, and something else that Richard couldn't seem to put his finger on.

_He looks scared shitless_, he thought to himself, not allowing Forest to catch him staring by looking around the room.

"He's still alive," Forest said, walking over to the man he had just shot down. "Those shots were fatal, two in the heart…but he's still alive."

"What are you doing?" Richard asked. "The man's incapacitated; there's no way he's still alive."

Forest walked over to the slumped corpse on the ground and turned him over with his boot—

—only to have the man raise his head and arms toward Forest in hunger. Forest answered the man's plea of hunger by firing a round through his forehead, the man finally going down and staying there.

"Forest," Richard said, looking at his friend standing before the corpse in utter shock. He let out a cry of pain and sped over to where the other corpses in the room were and fired upon all of them—all of them headshots.

"Bastards! You bastards!" Forest exclaimed, finishing his barrage and letting out short, heavy breaths.

Richard could see that something was bubbling in Forest's mind; he took no time in warning the man before he took his shots, and took no time after that to execute the man in cold blood. Then he desecrated all those other bodies. He understood that they were a threat and that they had wounded him, but Forest was forgetting that he was a cop, a man chosen to uphold the law, not act as a man who he should be arresting.

"Forest!" Richard called his name and heard it echo in the empty factory.

Forest merely looked at him then. He looked deathly pale, either from the loss of blood or from what had transpired. Richard never knew Forest as someone who would act like this; if anything, he was the man that broke other people out of this mood. But his look of horror made Richard even more afraid than he was now.

Making his way to the door, Forest stopped short with his back turned to Richard and said, "These men…those dogs in the woods…" He took another second to collect his thoughts before he finished his sentence. "Something happened here…something _big_. Whatever it is that we're facing, we can be sure of one thing."

"What's that?"

Forest turned to look at Richard, and in the most serious tone one could have, said, "They're not human."

Both men left the office and continued on their path to the freight elevator. They knew of the situation at hand, knew what horrors they were up against. But there was one thing the men _didn't_ know…

They didn't know that Forest shared the same blood as them.


	3. Friend

III

Friend

Forest looked like hell; the blood loss was finally starting to get to him, causing he and Richard to slow their pace significantly. Only his paler face matched his pale skin, and every now and then, Forest had to stop to take a breather, whether he had to vomit or take a moment to regain his senses.

"We're almost there, buddy," Richard reassured him, watching his friend press his hand against a wall to regain his strength. The blood from his hand was now dripping to the floor; the two haven't had time to actually stop and bandage it with all the cannibals—or _zombies_ as he and Forest agreed to call them—attacking them left and right for nearly an hour. They were everywhere, and the numbers only seemed to be growing as the two advanced deeper and deeper towards the freight elevator.

"Are we…almost there?" Forest weakly asked, closing his eyes and letting out short, quick breathes. "My legs suddenly feel so much heavier; I can't go on much longer."

"Hey," Richard began, walking over to Forest and giving him a light shake to make him open his eyes. "You can't give up on me now, Forest. We don't have much to go before we get to the mansion, so keep your eyes open, okay? You need to hang in there, pal."

"Yeah…you're right," Forest said, giving a grin before shaking his head forcefully. "I'm not gonna be much use if I drop dead here, right? Let's just press forward; there's definitely gotta be some sort of first-aid station in the mansion; it's a _mansion_ after all, right?"

"Right," Richard nodded, and smiled. He then looked to his pouch to assess how much ammunition he had left. Three clips…not exactly anything to worry about as of now, but God only knew how many more of them were up ahead, not to mention what lurked in the mansion above. On the good side of the news, however, Richard still had most of his ammunition for his Assault Shotgun, having only wasted four rounds on a group of the zombies he and Forest encountered in the narrow corridor just before.

From the death count so far, including the room they had previously visited, the zombies were now up to twenty-three, and there was still no explanation as to how they ended up like that in the first place.

But it didn't stop the two as they continued forward, Richard shouldering Forest as the two continued down the left path that led after the fork. "We're almost there, buddy," Richard said, looking forward and noticing only blackness. _Just great_, he thought, letting Forest loose from his grip and pressing forward. "Stay put," he said to Forest, venturing into the darkness with the light from his Remington on.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going anywhere this time," Forest laughed, cupping himself, coughing all the while.

The hallway wasn't showing any type of threat, but as Richard proceeded deeper, he noticed that there were three bodies littered on the floor, and that one of them was on top of the others, chomping away.

_It just doesn't end_, Richard thought to himself, not even paying attention as the hungry zombie looked over to him and opened its mouth, the saliva and blood from the other corpses dripping down its chin. Richard aimed his Remington carefully and let out one round as the hallway echoed with the force of the powerful Assault Shotgun.

The face of the zombie eater was gone; all that was left was the lower part of its mouth and chin, and the other bodies on the floor all got a brunt of the scattered shot. Richard made sure that they were down by kicking them once in the midsection. Having done that before, these men—or beasts—were very clever, so Richard did the next best thing: stomping their heads into the hard cement.

Not one of them moved after the stomping, and Richard looked forward and noticed that at the very end of the corridor were still lights that were dimmed, which led to something else.

An elevator.

Ecstatic, Richard began to walk back towards Forest to tell him of the good news when he noticed that he was gone.

"Forest!" Richard exclaimed, sprinting forward and noticing that his friend had fallen onto the floor. _Oh, God_, he thought to himself, _please don't be dead, Forest. Please, man._ "Forest! Hey, Forest!" Richard yelled, dropping his Remington and stepping over his friend, shaking him. It was in that moment that something odd struck Richard about his friend; he didn't get the same vibe from him as he normally did. Something suddenly told him that Forest was dangerous, in which way he didn't know, and he felt silly for thinking that.

He wasn't breathing.

"Shit!" Richard exclaimed, turning Forest over and pumping at his heart three times before going in to administer CPR. Before his mouth could connect with Forest's, his friend revived himself and let out a gasp of air.

"Trying…to kiss me now?" Forest smiled, looking up at Richard before closing his eyes once again.

Had Forest gone into shock so late since his wound? Or had his body had enough with all the blood loss and finally decided to shut itself down? Whatever the case was, Richard wasn't about to give up on his comrade…not after what they'd seen and been through.

"I found the freight elevator," Richard said to his friend, who opened his eyes and winced twice, probably due to his pupils readjusting themselves. "It's not too far from here, buddy, and once we're up there, we can patch you up again. I'm sure there's gotta be something that can help you out there. As a matter of fact, I guarantee it."

"Right," Forest sarcastically replied, allowing his friend to help him up before he shouldered him once again. They hadn't traveled two steps before Forest vomited on the floor.

"Shit!" Richard said in shock, stepping back and avoiding the vomit. It stunk to high heaven, and rather than comment on it negatively, Richard decided to say a joke instead. "I see you had the Lucky Charms for breakfast," he laughed.

"Screw you," Forest laughed as well, allowing his feet to drag to the floor as the strength from his body would not allow him to even help Richard in the slightest bit. Regardless of his body's refusal to give Richard a hand with helping, Richard managed just fine on his own, the two making it into the freight elevator shortly after.

"I told you we're almost there," Richard sighed with relief, allowing Forest to rest in the corner of the elevator as he punched in the "1F" button of the elevator. Richard wanted to laugh out loud for finally making it to where he needed to be. Finally…after everything was set in motion, Richard knew that his team was in the mansion, and that it wouldn't be long before he found them. Hopefully he'd run into Rebecca so she could help Forest.

"You think the others are there yet?" Forest asked, coughing once again. "You think they're dead? You think they're dead like Kevin, man?"

Forest was starting to slur his words, and he was certainly having a paranoid delusion for the rest of their teammates.

"You think they became zombie or dog chow just like Kevin? You think…you think…"

"Hey, hey, hey," Richard said, kneeling over Forest and leveling with him. "Nobody else is gonna die, okay? You talking like that isn't going to change the situation at all, so just leave the rest up to me. All you need to do is make sure you don't fall asleep, all right? I'm not asking for much here."

"You…you got it, chief," Forest breathed, letting out another painful groan. "And sorry…for talking like that… I won't be doing that again…"

"Make sure you don't," Richard said, hearing the _ding!_ of the elevator, bringing the ride to a stop. It was a _very_ long ride, Richard noticed, so how big was this mansion exactly? Or was it the factory that made it so big? "I need you to stay here for a second," Richard told Forest, slinging his Remington forward and stepping outside of the elevator.

As if his bad luck couldn't get any worse, as soon as Richard stepped out of the elevator, he noticed the body of what looked like a researcher or scientist, whatever profession allows one to wear a white lab coat, on the floor before him.

_Shit_, he thought to himself, lightly banging his head on the wall beside him. _Not here, too, man. How far did this cult spread? Cult? What the hell are you talking about? This isn't a cult…it's a disease. _

"What is it?" Forest said from within the elevator. Not hearing Richard answer his question prompted Forest to ask his question again, this time with more forcefulness. "What the hell is it?" he said in almost a shout.

Richard could feel the sweat drip from his forehead and fall to the floor below. He closed his eyes and wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but worrying about Forest and not his sanity was top priority now. He needed to find a safe haven for Forest to rest while he went out in search of medicine.

"The things…" Richard said, his voice dropping as he spoke. "They made it here too, man. A body is right outside."

"Is it moving?" Forest asked.

Richard felt like kicking himself when he didn't think of checking the corpse sooner. He cautiously walked over to him and turned him over with his boot.

Baffled by what he saw, Richard noticed that that the corpse's throat had been ripped out, so chances of reviving itself were slim to none. As a matter of fact, Richard knew that there was no possibility of him rising again.

He stepped over the corpse and walked into the next room, shotgun erect, senses blazing, fearing the best and worst at the same time. The bloodstained kitchen was littered with another body, but rather than "disturb" the corpse, Richard saw that it was a smarter move for he and Forest to just bypass it.

Walking back toward Forest, Richard noticed that his friend had crawled out of the elevator, elbows first "Didn't…want to go back down there…"

Richard smiled and held the door open with his foot. "I hear ya, buddy," he said, bending over and grabbing his friend, taking him into the next room and up the stairs.

Down this long corridor were some doors, most of them locked, and rather than unlock them to see whatever horrors were potentially left behind them, Richard decided to go to the door on his left all the way down the corridor, which led to a vast dining room.

"Fancy," Forest said simply, looking up before slumping his head down further. "Makes you wonder why the hell we get paid so little…for our job…doesn't it?"

Richard faked a smile. "Somebody's gotta do the dirty work, right?" he said, hunching his shoulder to get more comfortable with carrying Forest. It was at this point where he wanted to leave Forest behind, but he wasn't exactly sure if the "zombies" could open doors, and even though this place was ideal, Richard preferred a more secluded room for Forest to hole himself up in.

In front of the two were fancy-looking wooden double doors. As Richard discarded Forest for a second, he whipped out his Remington and quickly opened the door.

He found the great hall.

Richard whistled, and heard it echo throughout the foyer. Whoever owned this mansion was making some serious bank. Finding out who owned the place might just crack the mystery of just what was going on here in the first place.

All that aside, Richard shouldered Forest once again and decided to leave the doors before him alone; from what he knew about places like this, all the main rooms were upstairs. If he left Forest in a bedroom to get some rest, it would give him more than enough time to take a good look around while trying to find something that would help him.

As the two made their way upstairs, Richard noticed a door directly behind him, secluded and behind a banister. He hoped it was a bedroom, and as he made his way to the door, Forest collapsed completely, taking Richard down with him.

He tossed and turned and looked like he was having a seizure. Richard turned Forest on his back and shook him hard. "Stay with me!" he exclaimed.

Forest's eyes were moving sporadically, searching for something up ahead. And after Forest's shaking had ceased, he couldn't move any longer. Richard felt his heart sink before he saw Forest open one of his eyes and look directly at him.

"That…still you, Rich?" his friend weakly asked, delusional, closing his eyes and licking his dry lips. "I…can't feel anymore, man…"

Richard looked down at Forest's hand and noticed that the wound looked more infected than anything he has ever seen before; it was near blackened. Forest's bandaged arm was now starting to seep through, the blood a darkened crimson. And Forest's veins…they were starting to blacken on top of that.

There was certainly something going on with these so-called "zombies" and Forest's wound. Was it possible that it worked just like the movies? If there really was an infection that turned all these men and women into mindless cannibals, was it going to happen to Forest too?

Richard shook the sudden thought away and grabbed hold of Forest once again; he didn't want to carry him any further. He couldn't cope with his friend dying in his arms. The next room he was in-no matter what room it was-he was going to let Forest rest there while he tried to look for something to aid him. The chances of Forest surviving as of now was very slim, but Richard would be damned if he didn't at least _try_ to save his friend.

"Come on, buddy, you ain't dead yet!" Richard exclaimed, using all the strength in his body to lift the two-hundred-odd-pounds of dead weight from Forest's tall frame. His biceps burned and his back was starting to ache as he used whatever strength was in him to carry Forest above his shoulders and proceeded to the door.

Walking through, Richard sighed a breath of relief; the room he was in was a vast balcony. What got him so excited was the fact that Richard knew that they were on the second floor of the mansion, and there was no possible way that any dog could jump this high to even reach him in the first place. The second would be that the room was in such a secluded place that the mindless cannibals that were walking around would most likely bypass it.

A lone chair surrounded by flowers was at the end of the balcony, and Richard carefully set Forest on it, his friend sighing deeply as he was finally allowed some rest since the factory entrance.

"How…am I doing?" Forest asked weakly, closing his eyes and taking short, deep breathes.

"You're doing great, man," Richard lied.

With that, Forest opened his eyes and looked at Richard. "I've…lost too much blood, man…" Forest said, his voice sinking with his dreadful words. "I'm…dying, aren't I?"

"No," Richard choked, his eyes getting glassy as he placed a firm hand on his friend's cheek, feeling the freezing sensation from it the next second. "You just need to rest, that's all. I'm going to go look for medicine to get you better. We need to stop the bleeding first."

"Waste," Forest said simply, his breath getting shallower. "Used all…our bandages…"

"There's gotta be something!" Richard exclaimed, this time squeezing out a tear. "And I'm going to find it, no matter what it takes! Just hang in there a little longer, okay?"

"Always…looking out for me…" Forest said, smiling before letting out a loud cough. "Take the launcher; you're gonna need it," Forest suggested.

Richard shook his head and grinned. "You're going to need that more than me, man. I'm gonna head out of here with the weapon I got; we both know it's better than yours anyway."

"A shotgun…better than a grenade launcher, eh?" Forest asked, letting out a slight chuckle. "I must really have lost too much blood to agree with that."

Richard laughed and sniffled once; both he and Forest knew that this was the end of the road, as well as the last time the two would ever see each other again. Placing his forehead against Forest's, Richard let out one more sigh and let the choked up feeling get the best of him, the glassy eyes shattering and letting out a few tears.

"Don't…forget to…bring the fucking thunder," Forest encouraged Richard, letting out a few tears as well. "And…be careful, you hear?"

Richard nodded and stood up; he didn't want to be in that place anymore to watch his friend die. "I promise I'll come back for you."

"And…I promise I'll be waiting here…"

Richard looked at his comrade-no, his dear _friend-_once more before turning his back to him and exiting the room, locking it behind him. If he needed to get back to Forest, he'd either find the key to the room or break the door down; it didn't matter.

_{break}_

Standing in front of the freight elevator, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team member Kenneth Sullivan pressed the "down" button for the elevator, waiting for it to descend. He noticed one of his teammate's first-aid kits at the front of the factory, and wondered who they belonged to.

_All the more reason to get there quickly_, he thought, tapping his foot impatiently. _Come on, come on!_

Many bodies littered about this place, which made Kenneth wonder how threatening these men and women were for his comrade to kill each and every one of them.

Hearing the _ding!_ from the elevator directed Kenneth's attention to the chain gate of the freight elevator. As he went through, Kenneth pressed the "1F" button and readied his Samurai Edge, hoping to God that the decision he had made to follow his teammate's trail wasn't a fatal one…

_{break}_

Forest watched his friend leave his sight and knew that there was no reason to hold on any longer. Above, he could faintly hear the shrieks of crows. But in this place- in his heaven-there was nothing to despise. The flowers around him were so beautiful to look at that he didn't notice the blood that was pooling from his arm and hand.

The only thing he noticed was that he was finally allowed to get some rest. He breathed once, letting out a long, deep breath.

And his chest never rose again.

_{break}_

A/N: There's the latest installment to the chapter, hope you all enjoyed reading.

Also, I thought it'd be interesting to incorporate how Kenneth got to the mansion in the first place and how Richard somewhat led to his death by leaving the two corpses in the kitchen behind.

Hope people got that little hint; the corpse who didn't have his throat ripped out, in my scenario, would follow Kenneth up the stairs and surprise attack him, leading to the video either Chris or Jill would find in the actual game.

Look for more soon!


	4. Yawn

Four: Yawn

Richard grabbed his head forcefully as he exited the door leading to the balcony. He let Forest down, and now his friend was bleeding to death—if he hadn't died already—because of his inability to look out for his teammates.

As he stepped foot into the grand hall, Richard dropped his Assault Shotgun and rested his arm against the wall beside him, punching it with his other hand all the while.

_All your fault…it's all your fault, Aiken. If it was the other way around, he would've looked out for you…and he has. And the one time you were supposed to be looking out for someone other than yourself, you let Forest down. They didn't kill Forest…you did._

Facing his demons head-on was something Richard wasn't accustomed to doing. In fact, most of the times he felt very sure of himself: about missions, about friendships, and keeping his head on his shoulders. But with the realization that he had stepped into someone's greatest nightmare, and that he now had to go through it alone was something that was starting to take its toll on the man.

_You sulking isn't going to bring Forest back to life, Aiken; get your head back in it. _

Richard nodded to himself; he would worry about this situation _when_ he survived. He knew Alpha would come to their rescue, and when and if he regrouped with the others, they would come back and get Forest and Kevin the hell out of here. Richard would be damned if he'd leave his friends behind.

Sighing deeply once more, Richard bent over and grabbed his shotgun, slinging it to his side and drawing his Samurai Edge. He wasn't sure exactly where he was going—the mansion was just as big as he predicted, if not bigger—and covering all this ground by himself was going to take some time.

_Radio!_

He couldn't believe that he hadn't tried to radio in for help all this time. He grabbed his radio from his side and switched frequencies. "Come in, Bravo Team," he said into the radio in almost a whisper. "This is Richard Aiken. Forest is wounded. I may have a possible KIA. Can you read me? Over."

Silence…nothing but white noise.

"If you can hear me, please give me some sort of sign. Over. Forest is dying! Over! He needs immediate medical attention. Does anyone read me? Is anyone still alive? Over!"

"Shit!" Richard exclaimed, cupping his hand over his forehead, wiping the sweat that drenched his forehead. His short crew-cut hair was soaked in the smelly liquid; he would have to take a long shower when this was through.

_Forest is in the next room bleeding to death and you're worried about taking a shower_, he angrily thought to himself. _Maybe Forest was right…maybe everyone else is dead like Kevin… _The realization wasn't exactly a farfetched one. It could've been possible that all of the Bravos fell at the same time Kevin did, and he and Forest were the lucky two who managed to escape the hellhole.

_Who are you kidding? You're the only "lucky" one here; you're the one who's still alive. _

He refused to give up hope on getting in contact with anyone just yet. He clenched the radio in his hand tightly and proceeded to make another transmission. "This is Richard Aiken of Bravo Team. If anyone is out there, whether it's the other Bravos or Alpha, please respond. I have a wounded officer with me that needs immediate medical attention! Please, if anyone is out there, please respond! Over!"

It was hopeless, Richard was thinking to himself. He was in a mansion in the outskirts of town, surrounded only by forest; there was no way he'd get a feed inside the house. But if he managed to find a way outside, he could possibly get in touch with someone from the precinct…but the realization was that the dogs were still out there, and who knew how many more of them were. From what he remembered, the only dogs he encountered or heard about was the dog that attacked him and the one that apparently attacked Forest, and that was it.

_Maybe I can try to find some sort of hard-line in this place and make a call. _The plan wasn't exactly irrational; but Richard knew that the possibility of that happening was slim to none. This was just turning out to be a worse day by the second, and the only way he'd get the hell out of this place was if he moved…and moved fast… He'd have to worry about getting Forest home in a body bag later when he figured out just what the hell was going on in the first place.

"…_**ard…R…cca…"**_

The radio beamed to life just then, transmitting a crackly message from someone with a high-pitched voice. The voice also sounded very feminine. It had to be either Rebecca or Jill. But seeing as though the one who would be contacting from the Alphas would be Brad, it had to be Rebecca.

"Rebecca, is that you? Over."

"…_**mon…rs…Edwar…KI…Richard…" **_

"Rebecca! Rebecca!" Richard shouted into the radio, getting frustrated to all hell that the feed he was getting within the mansion sucked to high-heaven. "Rebecca, if you can hear me, I'm on the 2nd floor of the mansion. Forest is in the balcony area and he needs medical attention! I'm not exactly sure where you are, but see to it that you help Forest. I'll be investigating the second floor so regroup with me ASAP. Over."

Richard didn't get a response from Rebecca after that; hopefully she heard his transmission and was readily on her way toward him. He knew there was nothing Rebecca could do for Forest at this point, but he shouldn't give up hope that his resilient friend still had some fight left in him. The idea of leaving him behind was still fresh in his mind…but as callous as Richard knew it was to be thinking…Forest was dying, and he wasn't.

_Again, worry about it when you get the hell out of this place_, Richard thought to himself, shaking his head and readying himself as he walked through the door at the end of the hallway. Once through, it lead him to a narrow corridor with one of the walking corpses already on his way to him.

He had a new agenda: his mind had lost all sanity in this place…he didn't care what the consequences were of him killing everything and anything in sight. He adopted the ideals Forest displayed back in the factory, a "shoot first, ask questions later" type of ideal. He knew these people were not themselves anymore; they weren't human, they were simply shells of their former selves, shells that are lost to themselves and to all others.

Richard, with his Samurai Edge in hand, grabbed he hilt of the weapon forcefully, aiming directly below the zombie's right eyebrow, fired once and watched the projectile smash the skull of the advancing madman, the zombie falling to the floor lifeless soon after.

As Richard stepped over the corpse and walked toward the corner, he didn't notice that another zombie was watching patiently for him, catching him by surprise. He also didn't notice the one almost directly behind him until it was too late. As he grappled with the first, the second tried to come around to Richard's side to flank. But holding the creature at bay, Richard grabbed the hair of the grappling zombie and drew his knife, burying it underneath the zombie's chin, watching the blade make its way to the top of its skull.

Kicking that corpse off, Richard spun quickly and fired point blank at the advancing carrier's face, watching the 9mm slug splatter its nose, the blood from the ordeal spraying Richard across the face. He had never tasted the feeling of blood lust until this very second, and truth be told, he loved the feeling.

"Serves you fuckers right," he spat, wiping the blood off his face with his elbow. He wasn't sure how many of these things there were exactly, but he knew that the entire estate might've caught this disease, and sizing up the place, Richard knew that there was no way he had enough ammunition to take them all down. He could always go back for Forest's grenade launcher and clips, sure, but how long could that possibly last?

Richard shook the thought away; he'd worry about it when the time came to worry.

Remembering that he passed a door on his right before killing the three carriers, Richard backtracked and grabbed the doorknob, turning it slightly while inching the muzzle of the Samurai Edge in the crack of the door.

Kicking the door forcefully, Richard swept the area and noticed that it was clear, nodding to himself to keep that note in check. The room wasn't exactly big either; just a corridor that led to another door.

Stepping through that door using the same method as before, Richard moved in and noticed a door not even five feet from his position. Walking up the three steps that led to the door, Richard took a deep breath and walked through, the chills running up his spine as he did. For some reason, he didn't have a good feeling about the place.

It looked like it was an attic; one that hadn't been used in a very long time. There were cobwebs as well as dusty barrels that littered the place, and as Richard tread through, he discarded his Samurai Edge and whipped out his Assault Shotgun.

The room didn't look to have any sort of significance, and as Richard was about to leave, he felt the floor beneath him begin to shake.

Surprised, Richard looked forward and noticed that a monstrosity had come through the other side. It looked to be some sort of snake at some point in time, although it was now much, much larger. Its long body slithered from the hole above the ceiling and it mounted itself on the wall, hugging the floor as he lifted up his head high and showed the large fangs that protruded with venom.

"What the fuck…?" Richard said out loud, only to have the snake look at him with hunger in its eyes. It seemed to yawn before making its way to him.

Not taking any time to hesitate, Richard aimed his shotgun forward and fired, the spray shot hitting just below Yawn's neck, small trickles of blood falling from the wound.

In anger, Yawn lunged forward at Richard and was disappointed as his food jumped out of the way and shot another round at its lower body. Yawn retaliated by spitting something at Richard, the greenish liquid landing on his tactical vest, singing it.

_Is that fucking acid?_ Richard asked himself, feeling the warmth of the acid as it burned through his vest and made its way to his shirt. He ripped off the vest as soon as he could, tossing it aside and aiming his shotgun forward once more, ready to fire.

Yawn, ready for his food's attack, lunged forward at Richard, its massive fangs sinking into his right forearm and bicep. Richard felt like he was taking a stroll through Hell as the fangs sunk in; the poison was already making his way through his body. He had to keep himself in check; going in shock now was going to end up making him snake food, and he wasn't about to let that happen. He fired at Yawn's face and watched as its right eye exploded in a cloud of blood, the massive thing shrieking in pain and taking its mouth off Richard, allowing him time to assess the situation.

Richard took the time to hurry to the door, exiting quickly, slamming it shut behind him and running through the door in front of him as well.

_Shit, shit, shit!_ He exclaimed to himself in pain. His arm looked even worse than Forest's arm did; if the snake had stood on any longer it would've ripped his arm clean off.

Sweating profusely, Richard fell to the ground and began to toss and turn in agony. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he heard footsteps walk in his direction.

Richard looked up and saw a white tactical vest with a red medical cross on the right breast…and forgot about the pain for a good second.

Rebecca had found him.

- - -

Forest felt someone touching the wound on his forearm caused by the dogs. His eyelids were heavy, and he saw no point in opening them. Was it Richard that came back for him with the medicine like he promised? Was it one of the other Bravos or Alphas coming to save him? All these thoughts were rushing through his mind, but he couldn't put two and two together.

He squinted his eyes carefully and looked to the world before him; it all looked new, strange, and somewhat disoriented. As he stared in front of him, the S.T.A.R.S. patch of one of his fellow teammates, as well as a green tactical vest, caught his eye. Who it was he didn't know; he wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to think of anything…

_What's wrong with me?_ Forest thought to himself. He could hear his teammate saying, "No," but to what? he didn't know himself. However, Forest recognized the voice; it had to belong to Chris Redfield.

Chris touched the wound on Forest's arm again and quickly shook his head. "Jesus, Forest," he said to himself out loud, "what the hell could've done this to you, man?"

_Why's Redfield talking like I'm dead or something?_ Forest thought to himself. He felt himself smile as Chris stroked his hair and turned around. _Wait, wait! Don't leave me here alone! We gotta find Richard!_

Forest rose from his position and stared Chris down. He could see a blurry vision of his friend turning around quickly and backing up, Samurai Edge in hand.

All Forest could do was smile and walk toward him.

"Forest…no," Redfield said, shaking his head in utter denial. "Not you too, man… Not like this…"

_Always the jokester_, Forest thought, now picking up his pace. Chris' face looked pained; something very wrong was happening, Forest could sense. He didn't look at him like he normally did; now he looked at Chris violently, giving him the same stare as was being done to him.

Then something happened; Forest felt his brain lose all focus. All he could think was…itchy…tasty…and he wanted nothing more than to see the blood spew from Chris Redfield's form. He opened his mouth, showing barred teeth that were once used to show off his pearly white smile, and lunged for Chris.

Chris, still shaking his head, kept his position. "I'm sorry, Forest. I didn't mean for it to end this way…"

He fired once, and Forest fell to darkness…


	5. Denial

HeroofDarkness2005: Thanks for reviewing as well. The only reason why I didn't write that Forest had died by crows was I thought it was add more to the character of Forest if I showed how one could actually become infected and show symptoms of the infection from another's POV. Plus…the thought that he died from crows was extremely lame to me. In this storyline, I wanted to incorporate that the crows had gotten to him after he expired.

To all others, thanks for reviewing and enjoy the chapter.

Five: Denial

Rebecca kneeled by Richard and turned him so he was on his back facing her. She quickly assessed the wound while Richard bit his lower lip to mask the pain.

"You're going to be all right, Richard," she encouraged him, taking out some of her medical supplies and rummaging through them. "This bite mark is huge. What happened to you?" Realizing her stupidity, Rebecca shook her head and got back to business. "From the looks of the wound, it seems as though you've been poisoned…"

_No shit_, Richard thought angrily, feeling the stinging from his lower lip starting to make him grow angrier. _But how the hell are you going to fix it?_

"I have some serum here I can use to slow the poison down some," Rebecca continued, finding the small bottle and taking a syringe out. "This is going to hurt," she warned, injecting Richard with the syringe and watching him open his mouth from that pain as well. "There's a medical room on the first floor that had more powerful serum in it. I can head down there and be back in no time, Richard."

"No, please!" Richard said in pain, wincing as the burning sensation in his shoulder reached his nerves. "Don't leave me here all alone, 'Becca! I don't wanna be left alone."

"Richard, if I don't get the serum soon, you're going to die. Don't you understand that? I can't help you if you don't want me to help. I'm scared, too; I'm more scared than you are, but that doesn't mean that I won't risk my life to save you either."

"I…I don't want you to end up like Forest," Richard said, his voice dropping. "I'm not sure if you heard me, but I told you he was on the balcony area and that he needed medical assistance. It's been too long now; Forest is dead by now."

Rebecca didn't say anything; she merely looked over at Richard and sunk her head low. "I need to get you that serum, Richard. I can't have you dying on me too."

"I'll…come with you," Richard suggested, using all the strength in his body to ease himself up. He fell to the floor shortly after, too fatigued to even move a muscle.

"You're going to hurt yourself like that, Richard. I'll be gone no more than five minutes; I promise!"

Just as Rebecca finished her sentence, she heard the door behind her open. She spun and aimed her Samurai Edge at the door, lowering it as she saw an Alpha team member step in, his green tactical vest smeared in blood.

"You!" Rebecca said in shock, the excitement escaping her voice.

The Alpha stepped forward and nodded his head. "Chris Redfield, Alpha Team. We're here to rescue you." Richard was ecstatic when he heard his friend's voice; if Chris Redfield was here, then that means that Alpha team had finally come to help them out. And when Chris Redfield was thrown into the fray, he was usually the one who could pull off the job, no matter how difficult it may seem.

He ran to Richard's side, kneeling down beside him while grabbing his arm. "Richard! What the hell happened to you?"

Chris looked blurry to Richard; the lowly serum was finally starting to kick in. His voice began to shake as he spoke. "C-Chris… This place… Get your team out of here. Demons…everywhere…"

Rebecca shook her head and looked toward Chris, pointing to Richard's wound. "Don't talk! He seems to have been bitten by a poisonous snake, but the size of the bite mark is huge!"

Richard scoffed. "It's…not just any ordinary snake… Take my word for it…"

"He needs serum," Rebecca said. "I left it in the medical room on the first floor. I would go get it, but Richard doesn't want me to leave his side."

Chris nodded. "I know where that room is; I'll go get it." It took no time after that for Chris to sprint the way he had come and was gone.

"Don't you worry, Richard," Rebecca encouraged, stroking his forehead. "Chris will be back in no time with the serum and we're gonna make you all better."

Richard was breathing very loudly; the fatigue was finally starting to get to him. "Tell me…where are the other Bravos?" he asked, coughing as he did. "Are they all alive…? Are they here?"

Rebecca's face sunk; she quickly turned away from Richard's sight. "Edward…he didn't make it. When we all got separated, I managed to find this train that was abandoned. When I boarded it, I saw these things wandering around…looked like they were human once…but not anymore. My first mission and I fired my weapon."

Richard wasn't sure what he could say to her that would make her feel any better. He remembered he had felt the same way he first fired his weapon in combat.

"When I continued my investigation, I found Edward wounded. I tried to help him but it was too late. He had lost too much blood before I made my way to him. And as I got power back to the train and headed back to the entrance, I noticed that Edward's corpse was missing. Crossing through cars, I saw Edward… _eating_ one of the men I had killed earlier… He didn't even see me when I called to him; he just saw me like they saw me. Edward wasn't Edward anymore…he was one of them."

"He…became like one of the cannibals?"

Rebecca nodded. "It's a disease, Rich. I'm not sure how far it spread, but I do know that it's spread through at least a two-mile radius. Edward was covered in wounds caused by the dogs and cannibals, so I'm assuming the infection works like any normal one, by the transmission of blood or saliva."

"What about the others?"

Rebecca shrugged her shoulders. "When I made my way into the training facility, I managed to run into Enrico. He said he was heading here and went ahead of me while I investigated further. I assumed the others got here before I did, but when I got here…well…you can already assume."

The door behind Rebecca swung open once again and Chris ran through, dropping to his knees as he held a bottle of liquid to Rebecca. "Hope this is what you wanted."

Rebecca turned her attention to Richard and looked at him with a wide smile. "I'm going to give you a shot now, Richard. Hang in there, ok?"

Richard felt the needle puncture his skin like the other, but this one seemed to be more painful for some reason. The loss of blood had finally started to kick in, his blurry vision becoming even blurrier.

He looked over at Chris and took the radio from his side and handed it to Chris. "Here…take it… It's a radio… Take care of yourself…Rebecca…"

Richard sunk his head low and blacked out.

- - -

Richard opened his eyes and saw that Chris was sitting on the bed beside him.

"Hey, buddy, it looks like you're finally starting to come around," he said, lightly patting Richard's uninjured shoulder. "How are ya feeling?"

"What...what happened? Where am I?"

"We're in the medical room where I found the serum and brought it back to you. After we gave you the shot, you passed out and I carried you here."

"You carried me?" Richard asked.

Chris smiled and nodded. "It's not like I was gonna leave you there passed out and all."

"Thanks, Chris," Richard said, blinking slowly, his eyes growing more and more bothersome of the light just above him. "If this is the medical room, then maybe it's not too late after all. Forest..."

"Huh?"

"Forest...he needs medicine. He's dying. When we first got here, he was bleeding badly; he'd been bitten by these monstrous dogs and this crazed man. When we arrived, he could barely stand; I was carrying him wherever we went. I left him in the balcony area of the second floor to go look for medicine...but..."

"Richard... Forest...he..."

Richard looked over to Chris and saw that something was bothering him. He looked like he had something to say, but was afraid to say it.

"What happened to Forest, Chris?" Richard asked. "Did you find him? What happened?"

"Forest's dead, Rich," Chris replied. "The thing is, when I found him on the balcony, there was something very wrong. I couldn't believe it was him at first; I didn't want to believe that he was dead. When I went to leave, Forest got up...and I shot him."

"You what?" Richard asked. "You killed Forest?"

Chris shook his head. "He wasn't Forest anymore, Rich; he was something else...just like everyone else in this hell-hole. I tried to call out to him, but he couldn't hear me. He made his way to me and he attacked...that's when I fired."

"You mean...Forest became one of those things, too?"

Chris nodded. "I didn't think it was possible, but after speaking to Rebecca, she found a few files on the medical history of this thing. It happened to Edward, too."

"Yeah...she told me about that," Richard remembered, sighing his head. "So far it's only Kevin, Forest, and Edward, huh? Is the rest of the team searching around the place as well?"

Chris shook his head. "I'm afraid there's a lot of things you don't know, Rich. I'm not sure how long exactly you were in the mansion, but when we got here, it was a bloodbath. Kenneth's dead, too."

"Kenneth?"

"When we first arrived, we heard a gun shot. Captain Wesker told me to investigate, and that's when I saw that one of those things was ripping into him. I killed the cannibal and tried to revive Kenneth, but it was too late; his throat had been ripped out."

"Jesus. Anyone else? Are you guys here to get us out?"

"I wish it were that simple," Chris said, shaking his head. "When we first landed, we saw your helicopter. Joseph and Jill went to investigate while Barry, Wesker, and I searched the area. Joseph found Kevin in the helicopter all mangled up. On his way back to make his report, the dogs attacked him. I managed to pull Jill out just in time, but it was too late for Joseph at that point. We all ran to this mansion...but we lost Barry along the way. We're not sure where he is now."

Richard wanted to scream at the top of his lungs when he found out about Joseph, but he kept his head in the mission. "Where are Jill and Wesker?" he asked.

"I don't know," Chris replied. "When I came back to the lobby they were both gone. I don't know where they are exactly. But as I was investigating, I managed to run into you and Rebecca."

"Speaking of…where exactly is Rebecca?"

"Rebecca is taking care of some things that I wasn't able to," Chris said, smiling. "As young as she is compared to you and I, the girl's a genius; far smarter than I am."

Richard wished he could smile as well, but the realization that many of his friends were dead was something that stuck out like a sore thumb. He turned his head so Chris wouldn't be able to see him and sighed deeply; he was angered.

Chris got up from the bed and patted Richard on the shoulder. "There are some more things I need to check on, Rich," he said, sighing as well. "Sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news, but you were going to find out eventually. You just get some rest and wait for Rebecca or I to come back, ok?"

Richard didn't speak; he nodded his head, still not taking his gaze off the wall in front of him. Chris gave him one more light pat before heading out of the door.

After waiting five minutes, Richard grabbed his shotgun that was at the foot of the bed and sat up. He stood on his feet, wobbling as he did at first, and headed out of the door as well.

- - -

Richard took a deep breath as he entered the balcony area of the mansion. His heart was pounding and he was full of fear. Why? he didn't know himself. All he knew was that there was his friend on the other side of this room, and if Chris was right, that meant his friend came back to life...only to die again at the hands of his comrade.

Richard didn't bother to look up at all; he didn't want to see what he knew he was going to see. He stared down at the floor, taking short, deep breaths as he tread through. Forest was his best friend on the S.T.A.R.S., the man who he could count on when situations went sour. And now that Richard found out that Edward, Joseph and Kenneth had died too, what hope was left for him to survive this? The S.T.A.R.S. were being depleted at a fast pace.

His staring at the floor came to a halt when he saw a boot. Slowly inching his gaze nearer and nearer, he could see the sprawled-out body of his best friend.

Forest Speyer was dead.

Richard gritted his teeth and grabbed his hair. He knew this was what he was going to see, but being in utter denial before coming face-to-face with the corpse had made things much more difficult on his mind and soul.

He kneeled down beside the corpse and further inspected it. The bleeding from the wounds caused by the dog and zombie seemed to have ceased…but there were more wounds on his body now. Obviously after Richard left, something had managed to eat away at Forest's entire body, a small area of his ribcage was exposed, as well as tiny scratch marks that were about an inch or two apart from each other.

_Talons?_ Richard asked himself, running his finger on one of the wounds, careful as to not disturb the corpse. Richard loved his job, but the one thing he hated about being a cop was that when it came to life and death, the corpse of your friend didn't matter anymore...the corpse of your friend was your job.

Richard silently cursed himself and felt a stinging sensation in his shoulder. The serum seemed to have been working, but to what degree? It could've been possible that the serum merely slowed the poison down, and it was just a matter of time before he bit the bullet and…

Something that Richard completely forgot about caught his eye. As he stared at Forest's pain-stricken face, he could see the perfectly circular wound caused by a 9mm slug. Chris had told Richard that Forest became one of those things and that he had to put him down…but how exactly did Forest become of them? The infection either had to be airborne or caused like any other infection, by the host delivering it in two forms, blood or saliva.

_And if the infection is airborne, doesn't that mean we're all screwed?_ Richard thought grimly. _No_, he shook his head, _if that were the case, we would have all been dead already…like you, buddy. Unless, of course, the infection spreads and takes effect after the body has flat-lined. __  
_  
Richard threw the thoughts out of his head. Forest was fine before he had gotten bitten, and that's when he started showing symptoms: fatigue, fever, and shock, among other things. And if Forest turned into one of those things from the wounds he suffered from the dog and zombie, then did that mean that Richard was infected, too? Granted, a poisonous snake bit him, but it wasn't exactly something one would call "ordinary", much like the dogs that appeared to be bigger than the average Doberman.

"I'm sorry for this, Forest," Richard said, his voice carrying off into the wind. Nobody heard it...not even Forest; Forest would never hear anything again.

He turned around, gaining his bearings, slinging his shotgun forward and cocking it. One way to get revenge for Forest was to figure out what was going on, and if he found a guilty party, Richard would make them pay. He would take their lives like they took his friends' lives.

They would pay.

- - -

Richard made his way back to the medical room and saw that Rebecca was waiting patiently for him.

"Richard!" she called out in anger, obviously very upset that Richard had gotten up at all. "You know you shouldn't be up and running around yet; you need to get your strength back."

Richard grinned and nodded his head. "I'm sorry, Rebecca," he said, scratching his head and lowering it, hiding the smile that had come about. "I just...needed to check on a few things, that's all. Sorry if I had you worried."

Rebecca sighed deeply and shook her head. "What am I going to do with you, Richard? We're going to need to stick together if we're going to survive this, so I can't have you being a hero right now. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Richard smiled, saluting and walking back over to the bed. "If you will, Ms. Chambers," he said jokingly, raising his arm to her so she could inspect the wound.

"Tell me, 'Becca," he said, his voice dropping lower. "Is the serum we used the right one? I still feel kinda ill from the bite."

"Well," she began, re-bandaging his wound. "It isn't exactly going to heal in an hour or so, Richard. The serum I used should have healed all the poison in your body or else you'd be dead now."

"Jeez...way to be blunt."

"And it doesn't look like you're showing any signs of the symptoms like I saw in Edward, either. I don't believe you're infected or else you'd be unable to stand. You're lucky."

"Let's just hope my luck doesn't run out. Did you manage to run into Chris?"

Rebecca nodded her head. "He came back here to come look for us, and I guess that's when we were doing our rounds. He left this note on the bed, though."

_Richard, _

_The fact that I'm kinda pissed off that you're not resting right now is going to have to wait until we get out of here so let me just get to the point. Behind the mansion is a Residential Area. I found a map for the place and memorized exactly where I need to go. I showed Rebecca before I had to leave, so if you manage to run into her, make sure you both follow my trail; who knows if I'm going to need the help._

_I found some more shells in a cabinet with a broken shotgun, so seeing as though the shotgun was broken and I don't have one, I'm leaving the shells for you; put them to good use._

_I circled the Residential Area on the map for you. If you don't run into Rebecca, it should be pretty easy to find; all the dirty work's gonna be done before you get there anyway. _

_And be careful...those zombies aren't exactly the only things that are wandering around out here. _

_ - Chris_

Richard flipped the pages and grabbed the map. Just like Chris wrote, the Residential Area was circled. He turned his attention to Rebecca.

"You know where this is?" he asked.

"Chris showed me the door before we left," she answered. "He needed to do some things ahead and so did I, so I'm assuming that's when he came back to tell you as well."

"All right," Richard nodded, taking the shells from the bed and placing them in his hip-pack. "High time I pay Redfield back for saving my ass."

Opening the door, Richard felt his stomach drop; who knew what terrors he'd run into when he hit the Residential Area...


	6. Neptune

Six: Neptune

Stepping thorough a doorway he had never ventured through, Richard looked down at the ground and saw the bodies of two carriers sprawled across the floor; no doubt Redfield had made his way through here.

The room itself wasn't particularly big one. Aside from the double doors Richard had ventured through, there were two more doors on his right-hand side, and another down the hall. But as Rebecca continued to walk, Richard watched dumbfounded as she disappeared from sight. "It's this way," she said.

Across from the door at the end of the hall was a very narrow hallway that led to a steel gate. Richard barely noticed it himself before Rebecca had went through.

On the other end of the steel gate door, Richard readied his shotgun, going down the stone walkway that was littered with plants and vines on both sides. The passageway led to a steel gate with a stone and metal object placed in a contraption next to it.

"Chris found that piece to open the door," Rebecca said, "And when he showed me this place, that's when I started to make my rounds as well before making my way to you."

"You're telling me that this place is full of secret passageways and puzzles?" Richard asked.

"Apparently," Rebecca answered. "Just before, Chris had me playing the piano and a secret wall opened up. Whoever built this place must've been a really paranoid guy, having secrets and keys that made it impossible for one to figure out everything on their own."

"Good things we're cops," Richard smiled, nodding his head as he stepped through. The other side led to a giant storage house that had a set of stairs leading downwards and another door in front of them. Rather than check the downstairs, Richard decided to pull Rebecca through the door in front of them that led them to a new area.

Just like the stone passageway, this area was filled with plants and vines, not to mention the corpses of a few of the possessed zombie dogs. Richard knew he didn't have to worry about Redfield; aside from Forest, Chris was the best shot in the S.T.A.R.S.

Cautiously stepping in front of Rebecca, Richard aimed his shotgun forward and surveyed the area. Scanning to see if it was clear, Richard made his way to a double steel door and nodded over to Rebecca, who made her way to him.

Crossing through the double doors, Richard looked in front of him and noticed what looked like a pit that was recently drained had two ladders on both sides of them. "Chris definitely came this way," Richard said, looking over to Rebecca and receiving a nod. "And if he came this way, then we won't have to be worrying about anything biting into us, will we?"

Rebecca forced a smile and Richard could see that she did. He hurried down the ladder and up the next ladder, still playing cautious as he waited for Rebecca to do the same. Once up, the two continued down the narrow stone passageway that led to a small elevator.

Taking the elevator down, the two continued forward, looking at the floor as more bodies of the zombie dogs were sprawled out in the entire area.

"I can see it up ahead," Rebecca said, pointing to the northwest.

Richard nodded, taking Rebecca by the hand as he sprinted through another door and continued towards the small building.

Stepping through, Richard let Rebecca loose from his grip and readied himself; Redfield seemed to have made his way here in one piece, but how could he be sure that he was even still alive?

Richard shuddered…what if Redfield turned into one of those things…like Edward…like Forest…?

_That's something I'll have to worry about if it comes to that,_ Richard thought to himself, shaking his head. He led Rebecca forward into the old and abandoned-looking house before he made a stop in front of him; there was a door on his right.

Stepping through, Richard could see that it was a safe room, a room that gave him the same sense of safety as the other room in the mansion he was sleeping in did. He wouldn't have to worry about Rebecca so long as she stood in this room while he made some rounds of the place.

"Rebecca," Richard began, nodding his head. "I want you to stay here while I go take a look around."

"What? Why me?" Rebecca asked.

"Listen, if Chris comes back here, then he can meet up with you and the two of you can come looking for me. I'll be searching the place for him anyway, and if I find him, I'll bring him back to you and we'll all go ahead like a team. There's no sense in putting the both of us in danger while we both search for him, you know? Plus, I'll be fine."

"How can you be so sure? You shouldn't even be walking at all at this point."

"Well, my body's as stubborn as my mind is," Richard smiled. "You just stay put and wait for me to come back."

Richard could see that Rebecca had a pained look on her face; she wasn't sure what it was…call it "woman's intuition", but she could sense that something terrible wrong was about to happen, whether it be to her or Richard.

"Hey," Richard said, putting his hand under Rebecca's chin and lifting it to his gaze. "Chin up, soldier. I told you I was going to come back for you, wasn't I? You don't have to worry about a thing."

"But what if you're wrong?" Rebecca asked. "Knock on wood, but what if something terribly wrong happens and I'm not there to help you, Richard? You were lucky I was there the first time around when you were bitten by that snake."

"'Becca, I know I was lucky and I have you and Chris to thank that I'm still here standing right now, but you're going to have to let me take care of some things on my own, ok? Chris is somewhere in this building, and I'm going in to go look for him. If it really bothers you that much, how about I just make you a deal then?"

"What kind of a deal?" Rebecca asked.

"If I'm not back in twenty minutes, you can come and look for me. How's that sound?"

Rebecca smiled and nodded. "Fifteen, and that's my final offer."

Richard smiled as well, nodding his head afterward. "Ok, fifteen minutes, and then you can come look for me if I haven't come back yet. But hey, I promise I'm gonna come back, and I promise we're gonna make it through this, Rebecca."

Rebecca watched as Richard turned the knob of the door. "I'll see you in fifteen," Richard joked, and then he disappeared from her sight.

That was the last thing he ever said to her.

Stepping through onto the other side of the safe room, Richard pressed forward and hooked the first right to another door. The building was old, rickety, and looked like it was about to fall apart at any moment. Richard didn't even want to think about the possibility of him even being in the same vicinity as this place went down. But thinking negatively wasn't going to change anything for anybody, so Richard pressed forward and hung a left once he hit another hallway.

This hallway held many doors, and since Richard discovered that the first one was locked, he decided to press forward to the other one, relieved to have found it unlocked.

As he stepped through, Richard noticed that a body was sprawled out in front of him. He didn't take a chance to see if it was dead before he pulled out his 9mm and shot it once through it's head, the thing haven't actually been dead and not making a noise afterward.

The room itself wasn't a very big one; it looked like his dorm room back when he was in college, but this seemed to be a little bigger. The room's occupant wasn't exactly the neatest person; papers were thrown on the floor, as were clothes, but given the circumstance, Richard could tell that this happened just as the shit hit the fan.

In front of him were two bookcases. He could see how heavy they were by just looking at them, and the books on the right bookcase were thrown on the floor, while the books on the left bookcase were all intact. Richard knew it was a silly thing to observe, but as he walked over to the left bookcase and tried to pry one of the books from the shelf, he could see that it was glued in, as were all the others.

The second thing Richard noticed was that the bookcase was a fake. Carefully pushing the fake bookcase in front of the other one, Richard discovered that there was a ladder behind the thing, one that led further down into an area he wasn't sure even existed.

_Secrets_, Richard thought, remembering what Rebecca said about the piano she had played. He contemplated going back for Rebecca and having the two of them explore this new place together, but he thought she was better off in that safe room waiting for Chris, away from danger.

"Well, here goes nothing," Richard said out loud, slinging his shotgun towards his back as he crept further and further down the ladder. He shuddered as he was making his way down; it felt like a freezer in there.

Richard quickly aimed forward once he touched the ground, but much to his surprise, there was nothing there except an empty corridor. He quietly tread through, making sure his footsteps weren't that audible in case there _was_ something up ahead.

He hooked a left at the end of the corridor and made his way across a makeshift bridge made up of three boxes, and looked before him as he noticed a flooded area of the building. Water seeped through the door before him, so chances were that some kind of flood ensued from the place, but the water seemed level enough to continue his investigation.

The idea of getting himself wet wasn't something Richard had in mind, but if he was going to do his job or if the passageway led to some kind of sewer they could venture out of, it was worth taking the risk.

He stepped through.

On the other side of the flooded area that was shaped like a ring, Richard could see one massive tank that seemed to have shattered, due in part to the pressure that this place must've sustained to receive this damage. He didn't notice it until the last minute as something moved quickly through the water. By that time he was already very far from the door.

"Holy shit!" Richard exclaimed, running forward to a remotely safe area of the Aqua Ring. From behind, he could see a massive shark making its way to him, its massive head coming out of the water and its massive sharp teeth growling hungrily at Richard.

As Richard aimed forward, the massive shark's head knocked Richard's shotgun out of his hand and to the water, Richard watching in dismay as his weapon sunk to the darkness below.

But from where he was standing, the shark couldn't reach him, and until he came up with some kind of game plan, he would stay put.

Minutes passed, and Richard's heart was still pounding at the sharks that were swimming around him. He was screwed; there was no escape for him in this place.

He heard the steel door he had come through open, and he saw Chris Redfield step into view. Chris looked at him puzzlingly and made his way to him. "Richard!" he said, watching the horror in his friend's eyes instill the same horror into his.

Richard wanted to whisper to Chris to stay put and warn him of the dangers that lurked below, but he watched in horror as his comrade made his way to him and the shark make it way to Chris. "Chris, no! Wait!"

Chris stopped dead in his tracks, sensing something was wrong, but it was too late. The massive shark's head had come out of the water to feast upon Chris Redfield, but Richard had his own agenda in mind. Taking three sprinting steps forward, Richard exclaimed, "Chris, no!" and pushed his friend out of the way, the shark's teeth sinking into his torso, ripping him apart.

He caught one last glimpse of Chris Redfield before being pulled into the water below: he saw guilt, sorrow, horror, and confusion…but also a look of thanks.

Richard could see the water and facility at a very fast speed as he was being led through. As the pain seemed to pass…he had thought about everyone he had let down. He had promised Rebecca that they were going to escape together, but it looked like his promise will never be fulfilled.

_Please, God…_ Richard thought with the last remaining strength in his body. _Please, Rebecca…don't die._

The shark bit down once again, and Richard's eyes could see no more.

_Fin_

_A/N__: Thank you for all who read this. I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Take care of yourselves. _


End file.
